Oct. 11 Newsletter: Richmond wants a bigger share of Rosie's tax revenues
Weather: High of 70, with a warm weekend ahead
On this date in 1862, the Confederate Congress in Richmond exempted military service during the Civil War for anyone who owned at least 20 slaves.
Richmond splits its Rosie's tax money with New Kent County. Legislators want to change that.
For every dollar of local tax revenue generated from the slots-like gambling machines at the Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in South Richmond, only 50 cents goes to the city of Richmond, Graham Moomaw reports.
The other 50 cents goes to New Kent County, the rural but rapidly growing area east of Richmond that hosts Colonial Downs, Virginia’s premier horse racing track.
“It is crucial that we immediately change that formula,” State Sen. Lamont Bagby, who chairs the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, told The Richmonder.
Read more, including why live horse racing isn't the main moneymaker anymore for Colonial Downs.
Kamras warns of 'hard decision' as RPS surveys teachers about adding more workdays in 25-26 schedule
Draft calendars drawn up by Superintendent Jason Kamras’ administration for next year include just one half-day teacher workday between the two semesters in January, and conclude the school year for students on May 29.
Teachers have asked for more teacher workdays — days that students have off so teachers can catch up on planning and administrative work, reports Sarah Vogelsong.
- On Monday night, Kamras presented the choice largely as a tradeoff between adding teacher workdays and keeping the last day of school May 29. Pushing the last day into June, he warned, “is going to hurt our chronic absenteeism rates,” as many children would likely not attend.
Teachers will be surveyed on five potential calendar options for next year. Click here to see them.
Council indicates it might need another delay on tax rate decision
The deep dive on taxes the Richmond City Council planned for Thursday apparently wasn’t deep enough.
After another round of debate over whether the city can or can’t afford to reduce the real estate tax rate by 4 cents — from $1.20 per $100 of assessed value to $1.16 — the council gave little indication Thursday whether it will adopt a lower rate or leave it as is, Graham Moomaw reports.
- That means the vote may not happen until Oct. 28, a week before Election Day, adding another dimension to the intrigue.
The city has to take a public vote on the tax rate soon because of a state law meant to keep property tax bills stable and avoid big increases in bills when property assessments spike. Read more here
Stoney touts decrease in youth violence during tenure
Mayor Levar Stoney said youth violence in Richmond has decreased dramatically over his eight years in office, an outcome he linked to investments by the city in out-of-school programs aimed at increasing opportunities for young people in the hours when they aren’t required to be in the classroom, Sarah Vogelsong reports.
Data provided by the Richmond Police Department show the number of children shot annually has fluctuated widely over the past eight years. A 2017 peak of 55 was immediately followed by a sharp drop to 25 in 2018 and 24 in 2019, which was then succeeded by another increase.
Stoney attributed the eight-year decrease to millions of dollars the city has put into youth-centered organizations.
“We deeply believe that the children with the most resources shouldn't have all the opportunities,” Stoney said. Read more here.
In other news...
- Which mayoral candidate has spent the most on TV ad buys? (Times-Dispatch)
- Virginia universities struggle to compensate descendants of enslaved people (Axios)
- This Maggie Walker grad went from being a Richmond Kickers fan to being a Richmond Kicker (CBS 6)
Editor's desk:
Wednesday night brought a change from the mayoral forum circuit - a City Council forum put on by the Times-Dispatch and the League of Women Voters.
There was a pronounced gap between the incumbents and their challengers on how effective Council has been over the past four years.
The challengers were direct and pointed at times in their barbs at the current council, describing it as an ineffective body focused more on themselves than the voters. The incumbents talked up recent investments in affordable housing and improvements to the city's operations.
Asked to give a grade to the current group of councilors, 7th District representative Cynthia Newbille offered an A, while challenger Eric Sundberg graded them a D.
We're speaking with the candidates in every competitive race, and will roll those stories out over the coming days to inform voters as they head to the polls. Enjoy the weekend, and as always, we appreciate your support.
Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org
